Countdown to a nothing burger

"What does this mean? It means all eyes will be glued on the horizon, looking towards August 14th." 

A week from today, my wife and I will be pulling up stakes and heading north. Fishing? Boating? Nope. The long awaited MNGOP get together in Duluth. Is it an honor to be picked as a delegate to go to this event? Always. This is my third trip. Am I excited? Not really. Always fun to go to Duluth and see some out state friends. But the convention itself? Turning out to be a nothing burger.

Did not have to be that way. Our former Governor, Tim Pawlenty caused it to be so. The long awaited showdown at the OK Corral, the fight between Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who has been working this state mile by mile, dollar by dollar and vote by vote, and Tim "money bags" Pawlenty will not happen. TPaw, surveying the landscape for delegates, knew that a convention vote would leave him in the dust. His only shot then, would to try and be a spoiler in a primary.

TPaw knew from the beginning that his trip back to the Governor's mansion had to go through Jeff Johnson. He cleared the field by getting rid of Matt Dehn and then Keith Downey. He was not successful however, in getting rid of the "B" Team (TPaw's words) of Mary and Phil.

In any event, so what. The big excitement for the convention will be to see how many ballots it will take for Jeff to get the endorsement. Why do I think so? Jeff took every straw poll at district conventions save CD 7, which Mary won. And CD 7 is where Mary's running mate is from. With that, Jeff came within four points of winning that one also. 

The Senate endorsements will be first ballot events. I like the fact there were two outsiders also vying for the endorsement. But lets face facts. It takes money to play. Neither outsider have much of a war chest.

The Auditor and AG should be slam dunks with no competition. SOS? Hello? If someone has filed, it is the mother of all stealth campaigns. 

What does this mean? It means all eyes will be glued on the horizon, instead of looking at Duluth. Everyone's gaze will be locked on August 14th. And why not? MNGOP is still a mess, and the ship is swaying back and forth. We now have the chance to use all our money on a expensive and useless primary. Meanwhile, Team Walz will sail into the November general election fat, dumb and happy.

In any event, it will be fun being in Duluth. Maybe a growler of Castle Danger and a walleye sandwich at Grandma's will make the trip worth it. Or not.